后羿射日　(hòu yì shè rì)

Sun-birds Bake Earth

Dijun, God of the Eastern Heaven, had 10 sons. They were actually threelegged Sun-birds and they all lived under a giant mulberry tree.

Every morning, a Jade Rooster, sitting on top of the tree, would crow and then all roosters across the land would follow. That signaled the time for one of the Sun-birds to come out and begin its trip across the sky in a carriage driven by the Mother of Sunbirds.

So, every day the traveling Sun-bird brought to the world not only light but also warmth. Therefore, plants could grow while humans and animals could find enough food to feed themselves and to raise their young.

After thousands of years, the Sun-birds grew tired of the routine and decided that they would come out and travel together across the sky. Their mother wanted to stop them, but they wouldn’t listen at all.

Once the 10 Sun-birds were all out in the sky, it proved too much for the Earth. Under the intense heat of the 10 suns, crops burned, land scorched, rivers and lakes dried up. As a result, many people and animals collapsed and died of either starvation, dehydration or exhaustion.

Emperor Yao rushed to Dijun and pleaded for divine intervention.

Dijun was very angry and sent Houyi, the God of Archery, to teach his sons a lesson so they would behave.

When Houyi came to Earth, he was shocked by the dire misery caused by the misdeed of the 10 Sun-birds.

He climbed to the top of a high mountain and shouted to the 10 Sun-birds, “Listen, nine of you must come down and go back to the mulberry tree right now. This is an order.”

However, the 10 mischievous divine birds sneered at him: “Who do you think you are, standing there and giving us orders. We do whatever we like. It’s none of your business.”

By that time, thousands of people gathered around Houyi and urged him to shoot down the Sun-birds. So, the God of Archery took out his giant bow and long arrows.

First, he shot down one of the Sun-birds. It fell to the ground and its golden feathers burned and turned to ashes.

However, the other nine Sun-birds continued to defy Houyi’s order and played more wildly in the sky.

Angered by their cheekiness, the divine archer began to shoot them down one by one.

When he was about to kill the last bird, Emperor Yao rushed to stop him.

He told the archer that if he shot the last Sun-bird, then there would be no light and warmth during the day and people would live forever in eternal darkness.

People were very happy that they would never suffer from the extreme heat of the 10 suns anymore and hailed Houyi a great hero.

However, the God of the Eastern Heaven was not happy at all. He asked Houyi to teach his sons a lesson, but he killed nine of them. So, the God banished Houyi from heaven and deprived him of his immortality.

Despite the fact that Houyi came to live among the mortals, people across the land still revered him as a deity.